Raise your glass to good ol' Pete Doherty. A new study reported by Yahoo! has found that rock stars are more likely to die premature deaths than others. A study of more than 1,000 artists, from Elvis to Jim Morrison to Kurt Cobain and Eminem, has found that they are actually two to three times more likely to die young.
The study found 100 deaths, 25% of which were related to drugs and alcohol. That particular statistic brought into question the suitability of using rock stars for public health messages or anti-drug campaigns.
Another interesting find was that changes in an artist's popularity could lead to substance use and other self-destructive behavior.
It also
noted that Jimi Hendrix, Bon Scott and Sid Vicious died within five years
of breaking through, singling out those first five years as the deadliest.
But people like Jerry Garcia, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys and Johnny Ramone helped keep North America's aging rock star population's life expectancy low too. All of them died during their 50s, which contributed to proving that North American rockers are twice as likely to die early.
That could be due to extended partying or lack of health insurance, according to the study. This sounds like the most scientific study of all time. Either way, cheers to Pete Doherty, who will most likely contribute to the second edition of this study.
